Letters XC and XCI Summary and Analysis

Letter XC: Both life and philosophy (which teaches men how to live well) are the gifts of gods, though in different ways. Life is given directly by the gods, but the gods only give man the capacity for philosophy. They could give the gift of philosophy directly to man, but that would deprive it of one of its chief advantages, namely, that it is not subject to fortune but is the fruit of man's own efforts.

In a past age—the so-called "Golden Age"—man lived in accord with his nature and was ruled by the wise. Posidinius, a historian, claims that philosophers ruled in that time and were responsible for the invention for various technological innovations. Seneca objects strongly to both claims. First, the study of philosophy had not yet developed in...